Rania al-Abdullah, in full Rāniyā al-ʿAbd Allāh, original name Rāniyā al-Yāsīn (born August 31, 1970, Kuwait) queen of Jordan from 1999. As the wife of King Abdullah II of Jordan, Rania drew on her position as queen to advocate on behalf of numerous causes, including the rights of women and children.

Queen Rania of Jordan visiting with local children in Ajloun, Jordan.

Tim Graham/Corbis

Rania, whose family was of Palestinian descent (her father was from Ṭūlkarm, her mother from Nāblus), was born and raised in Kuwait. After completing her primary and secondary education there, she earned a degree in business administration from the American University in Cairo (1991). In her early professional career Rania worked in the fields of banking and information technology. In January 1993 she met Abdullah, then a prince, at a dinner party, and they were engaged two months later. On June 10, 1993, Rania and Abdullah were married, and Rania became a princess. When Abdullah’s father, King Hussein, died in 1999, Abdullah succeeded him as king of Jordan; shortly thereafter he elevated Rania from princess to queen.

As queen of Jordan, Rania championed an array of causes, including the rights of women and children, access to education, environmental concerns, and the development of strong Jordanian communities. She founded a variety of charities and made frequent appearances both at local events—she was known to visit some of the kingdom’s remote villages unannounced—and at international functions. Rania also made use of nontraditional forms of communication in order to broadcast her causes to younger generations: in March 2008 she launched a video blog as part of her efforts to deconstruct stereotypes about Arabs and promote dialogue with the West.

Queen Rania of Jordan (centre) visiting with schoolchildren in Muzaffarabad, Pak., following a …

Asif Hassan—AFP/Getty Images

Learn More in these related articles:

...was appointed deputy commander of the country’s elite Special Forces. He became commander of the Special Forces in 1994 and held that post until assuming the throne. Abdullah married a Palestinian, Rania al-Yasin, in 1993.